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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. press — to push
  3. staff — a stick
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. press — newspapers
  6. march — the month
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. race — the arms race
  9. march — the month
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. race — humankind
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. lean — thin
  14. staff — employees
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. press — a publisher
  18. staff — employees
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lean — to bend
  21. race — a contest
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com